Enzi, Vitter set govt. exchange goals

Two Republican senators plan to take aim at a recent agreement on Hill health coverage, saying they will introduce legislation requiring the president, vice president, political appointees, members of Congress and their staffs to buy insurance on the exchanges — including those currently exempted under the law.

Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and David Vitter (R-La.) said their legislation would also ban everyone in that group from receiving any federal contributions to their health plans — except for congressional staffers.

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Hill staff could collect insurance contributions from the federal government — their employer — but only those comparable to what they would receive if they weren’t employed by a congressional office. It was unclear how that would be calculated.

The bill would partially reverse a recent decision by the Obama administration to allow federal contributions to the plans of members of Congress and staff who go onto the insurance exchanges starting next year.

It also would eliminate a special Affordable Care Act carve-out for committee staffers, who are not now required to buy coverage on the exchanges. The Enzi-Vitter bill would send all Hill staff to the exchanges regardless of whether they work for a personal office or a committee.

It also would require the president, vice president and all political appointees to buy coverage on the exchanges, which isn’t currently required under the law.

“If Obamacare is good enough for the American people, it should be good enough for Congress, the president and vice president and other policymakers in Washington,” Enzi said in a statement.

Republicans have issued mixed reactions so far about the Office of Personnel Management’s announcement that the government can make the same insurance contributions it does now for members of Congress and their staffs.

Some said it was an inappropriate Obamacare exemption for members of Congress. Others were privately pleased by the decision — which relieved deep concerns among many Hill staffers about the cost of their health coverage — but said the need for a fix showed how flawed the health care law is.

“These recent maneuverings inside the Beltway are precisely why the American people rightly despise Congress,” Vitter said. “Our legislation gets right to the core of the OPM ‘fix’ for Washington.”